The Legislative Yuan today passed the third reading of amendments to the Senior Citizens Welfare Act (老人福利法) that would provide subsidies to cover National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums for people aged 65 and older.
The amendment, a consolidated version of proposals by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) caucuses, was passed with 60 votes in favor and 39 opposed after cross-party negotiations failed to reach a consensus this morning.
Following the vote, TPP caucus whip Jacky Chen (陳清龍) and other lawmakers rejected a request to reconsider the motion, preventing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers from filing another such motion.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Under the amendment, the central government would fully subsidize NHI premiums for seniors or their legally obligated dependents if their consolidated income for the most recent year falls below the tax filing threshold or is taxed at an income tax rate of less than 20 percent.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said that if the financial burden were shifted to people aged 15 to 64, each person would have to pay an more than NT$3,000 (US$92) extra per year.
NHI premiums should be based on financial capacity and mutual assistance, rather than imposing supplementary premiums based on a person's status, he said.
The proposal would increase annual government spending by NT$40 billion, DPP caucus secretary-general Fan Yun (范雲) said, adding that determining who should bear the cost and where the funding should come from is a serious issue.
Bypassing committee reviews to send a bill straight to a second reading is the worst possible approach, DPP caucus chief executive Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said, adding that such moves should only be made when there is cross-party consensus.
Bills involving major expenditures need to clearly explain how costs would be allocated between central and local governments, or whether the central government would cover the entire cost, Chuang added.
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